Hospital merger prompts lawsuit

A lawsuit filed Wednesday charges that the recent merger between tax-supported Bert Fish Medical Center and privately owned Florida Hospital is invalid because of multiple Sunshine Law violations during negotiations by the public hospital's board. The plaintiff is the Bert Fish Foundation, which in 1966 donated the New Smyrna Beach hospital to the Southeast Volusia Hospital District. Now, the foundation charges the district's agreement to lease and eventually sell the facility to Florida Hospital is the result of a tainted process. The foundation seeks to replace the hospital board and begin merger negotiations anew.

With the Florida Keys struggling to provide quality healthcare, Fishermen's Hospital in Marathon hopes to find a new manager next month to revive its facility, which often has fewer than 10 patients. The...